Allowing up to 30% of pension fund portfolios to invest in foreign securities is one of the changes included in the law reform bill proposed by the private sector.

The Citizens' Initiative for Pensions (ICP) introduced a draft amendment to the Law on Savings System for Pensions and other related laws, such as the pension obligations trust (FOP by its initials in Spanish) to the Assembly.

The Setena plans to amend regulations in order to reduce the timescale for ruling on studies for projects with high environmental impact, to 5 months.

At the moment the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (SETENA) is takes between 6 months and a year to analyze and decide whether or not to grant permission for construction projects with high environmental impacts.

Recommendations have been made to change the legal framework for the distribution market, because "in the process of ordering distribution as a natural monopoly, rules were introduced that permit competition."

Removing the tariff on chicken legs under the CAFTA-DR would resolve the problem arising from the use of different tariff headings, but can be done only if approval is granted by the other member countries.

In addition to relying on the approval of the member countries of CAFTA-DR, no one knows how long the process could take.

While pressure grows in Guatemala for the contract with APM Terminals to be annulled, the US company American Ports has expressed interest in operating the port.

Following opposition on the part of Congress to the possibility of approving a bill put forward by the executive branch proposing the granting of a direct concession to APM Terminals, now the Comptroller General of Accounts (CGC) has recommended declaring the contract void and starting a new process.

For the sixth time since 2013 a six month extension has been granted to the suspension on the levying of fines on companies that hire undocumented foreign labor for activities such as agricultural harvesting.

The government announced that in January 2017 it issued a new extension to avoid levying fines on companies in the agricultural sector that employ undocumented foreign workers during the harvest season.

The revelation that the brazilian construction company paid nearly $60 million in bribes in Panama is a clear wake-up call to society and the private sector, which must demand transparency in government procurement processes.

EDITORIAL

When a company bribes government officials to win public works contracts not only does it cause serious damage to that country's institutions, but it also damages economic development and the performance of private companies who do operate within the framework of the law, paying taxes and complying with the law.

The decision of the I Chamber to annul the judgment that prevented the signing of contracts without environmental studies has refloated the possibility of the contract with the American Mallon Oil Company being valid.

In the year 2000 the government of Costa Rica signed with US oil company Mallon Oil Company a contract to explore and develop natural gas and oil in six blocks of territory without the prior existence of an environmental impact study, an exception allowed by decree 26,750 of 1998.

Memorandum on "Rights of taxpayers' payment schedule and liabilities for October 2016.

From a Memorandum sent by Tezó and Associates:

Rights of taxpayers

Article 50 of Decree No. 37-2016 added Article 21 "A" to the Tax Code, establishing that taxpayers rights, be they acting by themselves, through a legal representative or an authorized third party, among others established by law, are the following:

The private sector is proposing new municipal legislation in order to unify criteria and procedures and allow for a "reduction in discretion regarding fees and licenses."

The proposal to streamline municipal management is part of an initiative made up of 50 measures to improve the country's competitiveness, submitted by the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) to the Nicaraguan government.